The nonprofit organization launched the action in Manhattan Supreme Court after local agencies consistently rejected its 2023 freedom of information (FOIL) requests for documents pertaining to the city’s response to Ground Zero and its awareness of its health effects.
“Documents, reports, assessments” about the poisons, dust, and fumes emanating from the demolished World Trade Center, as well as further details regarding potential health risks to 9/11 first responders and survivors, had been formally asked under the FOIL request. However, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection rejected the appeal on February 29 after conducting a thorough investigation but reportedly failing to locate any documents.
“There’s indications that there’s something they don’t want to reveal, and that’s after 22 years,” said 9/11 Health Watch Director Benjamin Chevat, who asked for the disclosure of any relevant correspondence from Giuliani to Adams.
“Had the city of New York actually been truthful at the time, it wouldn’t have taken it so many years to get this program going,” Chevat added. “Even now we’re still struggling to make sure that the health program is sufficiently funded.”
Based on municipal records, an estimated 400,000 persons were exposed to toxins from Ground Zero on 9/11 and in the days that followed. These individuals included 15,000 students and administrators at lower Manhattan schools, 57,000 citizens living south of Canal St., and 91,000 first responders. Diseases linked to exposure to Ground Zero toxics have also claimed the lives of 360 FDNY personnel in the years following 9/11, with 12 of those deaths occurring in 2024 alone.
